Chocolate Pecan Muffins ~ THM Compliant

Have Y'all heard of Trim Healthy Mama?

I kept hearing about it so much, and I was intrigued

enough by all that I read, that I bought the book.

These girls have much to say that makes a lot of sense.

I don't know enough about them to endorse all that they

may stand for, but, the initial results I've had

from eating the way they suggest have been positive.

I've felt better than I have in a long while.

I've dropped 10 pounds without starving myself ~ it really has been painless.

And, the cravings truly are not there or, can easily be satisfied

while staying on plan and continuing to achieve your ideal weight.

It isn't a "diet" in the conventional sense ~

 it's a way of eating and nourishing oneself that is easy to stick to.

It tends to regulate blood sugars and help the body find a good balance.

I have found it to be both satisfying and energizing.  :)

Are you interested to learn more?

Click here to find the book for sale on Amazon.

One thing to mention, and it's a significant thing if you ask me ~

these sisters do not endorse sugar of any kind

if your goal is to lose weight and/or balance your blood sugars.

That means no honey, natural sugar, raw sugar, or maple syrup

for those who are trying to achieve the specific goals mentioned above.

These authors would not include growing children in that restriction.

All of God's good food is encouraged in their case.

And, for everyone, a balanced approach to nutrition is promoted.

They encourage the use of Stevia in a couple of forms.

One of those is Truvia ~ I don't know for sure how I feel about it.  

More research is required before I become settled on the matter.

In the meantime, I have been using it.

That's my disclosure for this post, and I felt it was 

necessary to give it prior to sharing the recipe.  

There.  Now I feel so much better.  *Wink*

Having said all the above, I don't see why you couldn't make these

muffins with regular sugar if you don't want to follow the plan.

I've not actually made them without Truvia, so you'd have to give it a try to see.

According to my calculations, this recipe would require approximately 

3/4 cup to 1 cup of sugar to achieve the same level of sweetness.

Oh, and just so you know.  I still have sugar occasionally.

When I do, however, the scale shows me that I've done it.

It's so empowering to know how to quickly arrest that situation

and stop it in its tracks before it gains a foothold.

Now, on to the recipe!

~ Chocolate Pecan Muffins ~

(Adapted and modified from one of the recipes

which may be found in Trim Healthy Mama)
**These would fall into the S category**

6 Large Eggs ~ Organic, preferrably

2 tsp Vanilla ~ I use the pure extract

1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp Golden Flax Meal

1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp Almond Flour

1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1/3 cup Truvia sweetener (or 3/4 cup to 1 cup sugar)

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1 cup Chopped Pecans

1/3 cup Coconut Oil, melted

Whisk together eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl and set aside.

Measure all dry ingredients together in large bowl and

stir until no lumps remain ~ I mix with my fingers.

Mix egg mixture into dry ingredients, stir lightly with a fork.

Add in melted coconut oil and stir together well.
Let sit a minute or two to let batter rise a little.

Spoon into prepared muffin tin.

I use parchment liners in my muffin tin,

but, you could grease the muffin cups prior to filling.

Fill to the tops of the liners ~ I use the large size.

Makes 10 large muffins.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 18 to 20 minutes.

Tester should come out nearly clean. 

Be careful not to over bake as your end product will be too dry.

Serve warm with butter.  Enjoy!

Many Blessings,
Camille

**Disclaimer ~ I only endorse things that I use and enjoy.

I am not compensated in any way for my opinions.

They are just that ~ opinions.  Please do your own research
in order to be sure that you have made the right choice for you.  :)

Yummy Oatmeal Muffins

In keeping with my recent buttermilk theme,
I'm going to share one of my favourite muffin recipes with you.
This particular recipe comes from the Canadian Heritage Cookbook ~
I think that's fitting since I am Canadian through and through.  :)

I've altered the method a little to allow for a soaking time for the oats.
Did you know that soaking grains is an important thing to do?
I didn't until just a few years ago. 
It's not difficult to incorporate soaking into the cooking process ~
it just requires a little planning ahead.

Before I share the recipe, I need to tell you about another favourite of mine.
These paper chef parchment paper muffin liners are the Best!
And, did you know that they can be re-used?
Even though they are more expensive than their bleached
or coloured counterparts, they are more economical if you 
use them twice instead of just once.
I've even made them last for three baking sessions.

Now, on to the recipe.
Here is my hand printed recipe...hope you can read it!
If not, just ask.  I'm getting lazy, aren't I?  :)

The oats I use are the rolled/old fashioned ones.
I use sea salt, and occasionally, I will substitute Sucanat 
(as pictured below) for the brown sugar. 
I use butter, not oil, and if I want to be extra good, 
I will use whole wheat flour instead of white.  :)

Mix buttermilk and oats in a large bowl ~
Cover with plastic wrap and leave on counter to soak overnight.
In the morning, mix brown sugar, egg, and melted butter into the oat mixture.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sea salt, baking soda and baking powder.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet until just moistened.
Spoon into muffin tins lined with papers ~
if you do not use paper liners, grease the tins.

Bake at 375 degrees F for about 20 to 25 minutes ~
A toothpick will come out clean when they are done.
Mine are usually done in 20 minutes.
Transfer to wire racks to cool.
Makes about 10 to 12 large muffins.

The photo above shows the muffins prior to baking ~
I fill the cups right to the top.  
I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.  :)

Many Blessings,

Camille

Buttermilk Pancakes

There is just something down-home-good

about buttermilk pancakes, don't you think?

And, a stack of them?  Hot off the griddle?

So much the better.

This is one of those recipes that I copied from

my Mom's recipe box when I was still in my teens.

It's a classic.  Want to know the recipe?

Of course, I will share...you knew I would, didn't you?  :)

~ Buttermilk Pancakes ~
(From my Mom's recipe box long, long ago)

2 cups Flour
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 Tbsp Sugar 
2 Large Eggs
2 cups Buttermilk (full fat)
2 Tbsp Butter, melted

Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl.

Combine eggs, buttermilk and butter in another bowl ~ whisk together.

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir to moisten with your whisk ~ 
don't worry about really little lumps.

Heat frying pan to 375-400 degrees ~ 

when it's hot enough a little water dropped on the
pan will dance and evaporate.

Melt a little butter in the pan and swirl around.

Pour 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake onto the pan.

Cook until small bubbles form and pop ~ see photo above.

Flip to cook the other side ~ they are done when they are golden in colour.

Serve hot with butter and maple syrup ~ YUM!

This recipe makes 16 four inch pancakes.

In our opinion, they are better than any pancake mix around.

I'm sure you'll love 'em just like we do.  :)

Blessings to you,

Camille

A-mazing Oatmeal Options!

How is your oatmeal repertoire?

Do you even eat oatmeal in your home?

Does it ever get boring to have plain old oatmeal every day?
No, really?  It does?  Yup, me too.
Get ready...because...

This, my oatmeal-weary friends, is the post for you!

Let me share with you some of my new finds ~

A-mazing Oatmeal Options!!

And, yes...they really are that good!!  :)  

 First up ~ Basic Chocolate Oatmeal originally posted by Katie

who writes the "Chocolate Covered Katie" blog.

Okay, is it even right to make your oatmeal into dessert?

Let's not even open up a debate on that one...agreed?  
Oh, and if you don't like chocolate, you won't like this.  :)

Here's what I did to make it mine.

This will make enough for about four ~
depending on hunger levels.  

5 cups Liquid ~ I used half water and half milk ~ 
(or, all of one or the other)

2 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats ~
(You could substitute Quick Cooking oats...
just reduce cooking time accordingly)

3/4 tsp Sea Salt

Put these three ingredients into a medium sized,

heavy-bottomed pot.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat while stirring.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer partially covered

for about 8 to 10 minutes, until it gets creamy.

Stir in the following, and mix well ~

3 Tbsp Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder

1/3 cup Sugar ~ I use dehydrated cane juice

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Cover with lid and let sit off the heat 

for about 5 minutes prior to serving.
Stir in more of your choice of liquid, if necessary.

Serve with a few chocolate chips sprinkled on top (yes, really!).

And, some chopped nuts ~ I like pecans.

Drizzle with milk or cream.

Dig in ~ I dare you!!  ;-)

 Next up ~ Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oatmeal originally

posted on the "Real Mom Kitchen" blog.

A little less dessert-ish, but, completely yummy-ish ~

This recipe fits the bill for a great crock pot breakfast that

can be prepared the night before.

Who does not like to have the morning's work done ahead of time?

And, what could be better than waking up to a cinnamon-y,

apple-ish-ously smelling home in the morning?

Nothing.  That's what!

This recipe will serve six to eight hungry adults.
If you like creamy rice pudding, you will like this.
Yum.  Yum!

One more thing...I found it necessary to fill my

large crock pot half full with water and then I used a 2.5 Litre (2.5 Quart)

casserole dish to hold the recipe ingredients.

I placed this dish into the water and then put the crock pot

lid on the whole thing.

The first time I made this recipe it burned...

perhaps I just have a weird crock pot...

could very well be!

Whatever the reason, it was not pleasant.
Only half the oatmeal was salvageable.

However, the second time I made this, 
I did the insert thing and it worked beautifully!

No burned stuff to scrape off.

And, every last bit of this yummy oatmeal 

was ready to gobble down.

Yippee!! 

3 Gala apples cored and chopped ~ skin on

3 cups Milk

2 cups Water

1 cup Apple Juice ~ I like organic, fresh-pressed

2 cups **Steel Cut Oats ~ uncooked
**(Don't use regular oatmeal in this recipe...
it will become too mushy!)

1/4 cup Maple Syrup 

2 Tbsp Butter ~ cut into little pieces

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

2 tsp Cinnamon ~ ground

Butter your casserole dish.

Mix all ingredients together and carefully pour 

into the casserole dish.

It will come nearly to the top.

Stir well.

Place into your crock pot. Put the lid on.

Turn the heat to low and set on the counter

to cook while you sleep.

This will take about 7 to 8 hours.

Mine burned after about 5 hours on my first try,

when I cooked it directly in the crock pot.

No fun!  I woke up at about 4:30 am to the smell of burnt sugar.

Take my advice, and use the casserole set-up

and there will be no issues.

It is so worth it!!

In the morning, remove your casserole dish
from the crock pot and stir the oatmeal prior to dishing it out.
Serve with chopped pecans, raisins,

a little more brown sugar and milk or cream.

Enjoy!!  And...do let me know what you think!  :)

Many Blessings,

Camille

Doughnut Muffins

Do you like cake doughnuts?

If so, these muffins will satisfy your cravings.

Nutmeg-gy 
(not a word, I know...but, I like it, don't you?) 
and Sweet ~

Satisfyingly filling and yummy...

a great start to the day, 
or a perfect mid-afternoon snack.

What are you waiting for?

This yummy recipe comes from a British cookbook ~ 

"Brunch" by Parragon books.

~ Doughnut Muffins ~ 

 3/4 cup Butter, at room temperature 

1 cup sugar, I use organic dehydrated cane juice 

2 Large Eggs, slightly beaten 

2 1/2 cups Flour 

3/4 Tbsp Baking Powder 

1/4 tsp Baking Soda 

Pinch of Sea Salt 

1/2 tsp Nutmeg, ideally freshly grated...yum yum! 

1 cup Milk (may need a little more to make the batter less thick) 

 Beat butter and sugar together in mixer bowl until creamy. 

Add eggs one at a time and whip after each addition. 

Whisk the flour, baking powder and soda, 

salt and nutmeg together in a separate bowl. 

Add half of the dry ingredients to the 

creamed butter mixture together with half the milk.

Gently fold together. 

Add in remaining dry ingredients with the 

remaining milk and stir gently until just barely mixed.

Spoon into 12 muffin cups lined with paper liners.

Bake in 350* F oven for 15 to 20 minutes 

until toothpick comes out clean. 

While the muffins are baking, 

mix together 1/2 cup powdered sugar (icing sugar) 

with 1 tsp ground cinnamon in a bowl.

Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a small pot on the stove 

 or in a bowl in the microwave. 

 As soon as the muffins come out of the oven, 

leave them in the pan and brush butter over the 

tops of a few muffins and then sift the sugar 

and cinnamon mixture over top.

Repeat until all the muffins are dusted heavily with the topping. 

 Remove to a cooling rack and enjoy while still warm! 

 Happy Baking! 

 Many Blessings, Camille

Chocolate Chip Scones ~ Oh My!

Scones are the best ~

But, these are even better because

they have chocolate in them. :)

For breakfast, a snack,

or anytime...you won't be disappointed ~

I promise!

There's one little tip to share with you ~

I can't remember where I learned this trick,

but, I love it!

Biscuits and scones do not like to be

over handled ~ they become tough.

Rolling and re-rolling is not a good thing.

Solution?

Pat dough into a rectangle.

Cut into three strips.

Then, cut triangles out of the dough strips.

They do not need any rolling or fussing.

Pop them on your parchment lined cookie sheet and bake!

Easy peasy.

Want the recipe?

Just click here to find it ~

thank you Trisha for sharing!! :)

Many Blessings,

Camille

Dried Cranberry Cheesecake Muffins

Definitely in the category of *Dessert*...
these muffins are rich and yummy.
I must confess...
We had them for breakfast.

Oh. Dear. Me.

The original recipe called for dried cherries.
But, it did say that dried cranberries
would work just as well.

Dried cranberries were what I had on hand, so...
dried cranberries were what I used.

They worked great!

Adapted from the "Brunch Cookbook" by Parragon Books

~ The Ingredients ~

1/4 cup Butter ~ melted
1 pkg Cream Cheese (250g or 8 oz) ~ softened
3/4 cup Sugar
3 large Eggs ~ lightly beaten
2 cups Flour
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 cup dried Cranberries
(or Cherries, chopped)
Icing Sugar (Confectioner's) for dusting

~ The Method ~

Melt butter and let cool slightly.
In large bowl, whisk together the cream cheese
and sugar, add the egggs one at a time,
then stir in the melted butter.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt
and cranberries in a separate bowl.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet
carefully ~ do not overmix.

Line 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.
Spoon batter into each cup ~ divide evenly between the twelve cups.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 to 20 minutes**
until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

**I re-baked these to check on the timing.
It took a little more than 20 minutes for mine to be done.

Remove from the oven and dust immediately with icing sugar.
Cool in pan 5 minutes before removing to cooling racks.
Serve warm or cooled ~ I like mine warm. :)

Enjoy!
Many Blessings,
Camille

Almond (or Peanut) Butter Granola

This got rave reviews.
My Sweetie couldn't
believe that I made it ~
LOL! :)

Should I take that
as a compliment?
I chose to.

Y.U.M.

Jennifer Jo featured it on her
blog about a week and a half ago.
I altered it slightly.

One thing to note ~
I don't have peanut butter
in the house because two of our
children are are deathly allergic to it.

However, I think it would be
F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S.
made with peanut butter.
I substituted almond butter.
And it was SO GOOD!

~ Peanut Butter (or Almond Butter) Granola ~
Adapted from Jennifer Jo's recipe.

5 cups rolled oats
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup brown sugar (I used Sucanat)
1/3 cup liquid honey
1/3 cup unrefined organic coconut oil
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
(I used almond butter) ~
If it's salted,
decrease the amount of salt you use.
1 cup dried cranberries
(or other dried fruit)

Stir the oats, nuts,
and coconut together in a large bowl.
In a small saucepan,
combine the brown sugar,
honey, coconut oil, salt
and peanut (or almond) butter
over medium heat until melted together.

Pour the wet ingredients over
the dry and stir to combine.
It will be lumpy.
Spread the mixture into a
10" x 15" glass baking dish
and bake at 250 degrees for 60-90 minutes ~
Stir every fifteen minutes,
until nicely golden in colour.
Be careful not to overdo it.

Cool to room temperature and add dried fruit.
Store in an airtight container.
Serve with creamy milk.

Enjoy!

Blessings,
Camille

Oven Baked Hash Browned Potatoes

Jennifer Jo and I seem to
have similar taste buds.
I like her recipes.

And this was no exception.

And...
it's EASY!

And...
MULTIPLY-ABLE.
(Is that a word?)

You can make these for a few
or for many.
It all depends on how many potatoes
you begin with.

Oh YUM!!

Head on over to Jennifer Jo's
for her recipe for these fabulous
Oven-Baked Hash Browns!

You won't be sorry you did.
Your family will thank you.

The End.

Blessings,
Camille

Baked Berry Almond Oatmeal

Y.U.M.M.Y.

SO good!

It was a hit all around.
And the boy who can NEVER get filled up...
did! :)

Click Here to find the recipe ~
You will need to scroll about half-way down
the post to locate it.
It's worth the hunt! :)

FYI ~ I doubled the recipe to serve my family...
using two pans of the 7" x 11" variety.
AND...I used old fashioned oats
and thawed raspberries (they had been frozen).

Enjoy!
Blessings,
Camille

Dessert for Breakfast!

White flour.
White sugar.
Icing sugar.
Butter.
Heavy Cream.

Orange Cranberry Scones.


Like I said...dessert!

They are
Y.U.M.M.Y.

Jennifer Jo and I must have
similar taste buds.
I always enjoy her recipes.
And this, again,
was no exception.


I'm sending you to Jennifer Jo's
place for the recipe.
Click here to get there ~
Enjoy!

Occasionally.
*Wink*

Yogurt Anyone?

Ease of operation.

I'm trying to do things in
a straightforward and streamlined way.

Saves the sanity.

Yogurt is a necessary part of the
healing process for
Crohn's Disease
according to the book
"Breaking the Vicious Cycle".

I never thought I would make yogurt.
It was not on my radar.
Not, that is, until this happened.

I am committed to doing all I can
to facilitate healing for our child.

Part of that is making yogurt.

In an effort to keep things simple,
I bought a yogurt maker.
I try to stay away from plastic as much as
possible, so I bought the glass jar that fits the yogurt maker.
I also buy the starters 12 boxes at a time.

The method is simple.

You heat the required amount of milk (1 litre or 2)
in a pot to simmering.
It should be 180 degrees ~ use a thermometer.

Then plunge the pot into a sink of cold water.

Stir while the milk cools ~
it should be lower than 100 degrees.

Mix about 1/2 cup of milk into the starter.
(Use 5 grams of starter for 1 litre
and 10 grams of starter for 2 litres)
Whisk it until dissolved.
Add the remaining milk and stir well.
Pour into your yogurt maker liner.

Seal.

Lower into the yogurt maker.
Make sure you put water in the yogurt maker up
to the lower line for a 1 litre batch and the upper
line for a 2 litre batch.

Put the lid of the yogurt maker on.
Plug it in.

Let it sit on your counter
fermenting for at least 24 hours,
but no longer than 32 hours.
(This longer incubation time
is to produce a lactose-free yogurt ~
Important for the *SCD).
If you do not require a lactose-free product,
your incubation time will be about 12 hours.

Once the time is up,
remove the yogurt batch
from the yogurt maker and
set gently in the fridge for 8 hours to cool.

To serve, spoon some yogurt into a bowl,
drizzle with a little honey
and add berries to taste.

You will have probiotics in a bowl ~
what a fabulous way to incorporate them into the diet! :)

Do you make yogurt?
Would you like to begin?
I'd enjoy hearing your yogurt stories.

Many blessings,
Camille

*SCD ~ Specific Carbohydrate Diet
as explained in "Breaking the Vicious Cycle"

Almond Flour Waffles

Here it is...as promised!
Another recipe for Almond Flour.

We like these waffles even better than our old standby.
I've even served them to company!
They get rave reviews.

And they are quick to whip up at a moment's notice.
They cook MUCH more quickly than the *regular* type.
In my waffle maker, they are done in a minute and a half.

Better and better.

Makes you want to get your hands on some
Almond Flour now, doesn't it? :)


~ Almond Flour Waffles ~

As found in the book ~
"Breaking the Vicious Cycle"

1 cup Almond Flour

4 Eggs, beaten

2 Tbsp honey
(preferrably raw and liquid)

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/4 tsp Sea Salt

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl
with a wire whisk.

Preheat and grease your waffle iron.
(I use coconut oil to grease it ~
melt a little and use a brush to coat the iron)
Be forewarned...you will be sorry if you skip
the greasing step ~
Ask me how I know! :)

Pour 3/4 to 1 cup of batter onto the
waffle iron and cook for about 90 seconds
or until done.

I quadruple this recipe for our family of six.
The boys and Emma all have hearty appetites.
My waffle maker cooks four squares at a time
and one batch would make two of those four-squared waffles.
I hope that makes sense!

Feel free to ask questions.

Enjoy!
Blessings,
Camille


**One thing to note ~
Almond Flour will go rancid if
it's not stored properly.
Keep it in a sealed container in the fridge
or freezer for long term storage.

Some of You Were Asking...

What does one DO with Almond Flour?
How can it be made into something edible?

One of the answers to
those questions is ~

Almond Flour Banana Cake.

But, that is not the ONLY answer.
There are so many more things that can be done with it ~
I hope to share another favourite with you soon.

But, for now...
this recipe is a good place to begin.

No grains.
No dairy.
No sugar.
(except honey)

Intrigued?

Oh, and did I mention that it's so healthy
you can eat it for Breakfast??

What are you waiting for??

~ Almond Flour Banana Cake ~

Slightly adapted from the book
"Breaking the Vicious Cycle"

3 cups Almond Flour
(not coarse meal)

3 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup honey
(preferrably raw and liquid)

1 tsp Baking Soda

3/4 cup mashed bananas
(very ripe) ~ about two medium

1/4 cup melted butter
(if you are eliminating dairy,
coconut oil would substitute nicely)

Measure the Almond Flour and Baking Soda
into a large mixing bowl.
Stir to completely mix in the Baking Soda.

In another bowl,
mix together all the wet ingredients.

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry
and stir until combined.

Spread batter evenly into a
greased 8 inch square baking pan.
(I use a glass pyrex dish)

Bake at 350* F until done (about 30 to 40 minutes) ~
Check at the 30 minute mark...mine takes 35.
When done, the top should spring back when touched.

It goes quickly from done to overdone...watch closely.
It also is easy to underbake...don't do that either!
It's not too difficult, really. ;-)
Somehow, I don't think I'm very reassuring!
But, please believe me...LOL! :)

ENJOY!
Without any guilt.

**One thing to note ~
Almond Flour will go rancid if
it's not stored properly.
Keep it in a sealed container in the fridge
or freezer for long term storage.

Prize-Winning Blueberry Muffins

D.E.F.I.N.I.T.E.L.Y.
There is a reason for their name.

These are
ABSOLUTELY the BEST
blueberry muffins ever!

They are sweet and tangy with a
satisfying crunch on their tops.
Just the right amount of blueberries are
added without being overbearing.


For the record ~
I didn't have the needful ingredients
on hand the other day to make these,
so I tried out another recipe.

Overbearingly BLUE!

And DENSE.

We all wished I had waited to make the *real* ones!
So, I speak from experience when I say a
blueberry muffin can have too many blueberries.
There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
These do not fall into that category.


They are PERFECT!

The children say they are like dessert.

What are you waiting for?
I'm craving more as I write.
YUM!

~ Prize-Winning Blueberry Muffins ~

As found in the Land O Lakes Cookbook ~
Treasury of Country
Heritage Meals and Menus

1/2 cup Sugar
(you may cut this by half)

1/4 cup Butter, softened

1 cup Sour Cream

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice ~
freshly squeezed

1 + 1/2 tsp Lemon Peel ~
finely grated

1 Egg

1 + 1/2 cups Flour
(you may substitute whole wheat pastry flour)

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 cup Blueberries ~
fresh or frozen (unthawed if frozen)

~ Topping ~

1 Tbsp Sugar and
1/2 tsp grated Lemon Peel


Heat oven to 375* F.

In large mixer bowl combine
1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup butter.

Blend in mixer until creamy.

Add sour cream, lemon juice, peel and egg.

Beat together until well mixed,
scraping bowl often.

In medium bowl,
stir together flour and baking soda.

By hand, stir flour mixture into
sour cream mixture
until just barely moistened.

Fold in blueberries.

Spoon into paper lined
(or greased) muffin tins.

In small bowl,
mix together topping ingredients.

Sprinkle 1 tsp of topping onto each muffin.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until lightly browned
and a wooden toothpick comes out clean.


Cool five minutes in pan,
then remove to cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Banana Muffins ~ Healthy Version

These were for breakfast this morning.
"Biscuits, Muffins and Loaves" by Jean Pare
is one of my most used cookbooks.
I have altered the original recipe to make it healthier.
I hope you like them as much as we do! :)

**Updated April 20, 2010 ~ You may find that they burn easily...just reduce the heat to 375* ~ if you keep the temp at 400*, begin checking them at the 15 minute mark.**

~ Banana Muffins ~

1 & 3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour (I use organic)
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Salt (I use sea salt)
1/2 cup Butter, softened (I actually melt it!)
3/4 cup Sucanat (alternative to refined sugar)
2 large Eggs ~ free range and organic (if possible)
1/4 cup Plain Yogurt (organic)
1 cup mashed ripened Bananas (organic)

Measure flour, baking soda and salt into large bowl.
Stir together and make a well in the centre.

In a separate bowl ~

Cream together butter, sucanat, and eggs.
Mix in yogurt and banana.
Pour into well in flour mixture.
Stir just until moistened.
Batter will be lumpy.
Line muffin tins with paper liners and fill 3/4 full with batter
(I fill mine a little more than that)

Bake at 400* F for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Remove to wire cooling racks.

~ ENJOY! ~